First Post of 2011!

Happy New Year! I know I've been gone for a while, but I never said I'd be consistent with my posts. ;) I hope you all had a good Christmas! The post of today is about one of my favorite parts of the holidays.

Every year around December there are Christmas parties. This year I went to two of them, one for my mom’s side of the family in Bluffton, Ohio and one for my dad’s side, in Cleveland. Though these two Christmas parties differ in many ways – the food, the people, and the place, to name a few –  there are some similarities between them, the most prominent being the activity of the evening; the White Elephant gift exchange.

If you don’t know what a White Elephant is, I’ll explain: Everyone who wants to participate brings a wrapped present. One difference between the two White Elephant’s I participated in this year, is specifying the gift. At the party in Bluffton, when someone puts a gift on the table with all the others, they specify if the gift is geared more towards a woman or a man. If it doesn’t matter who the gift gets to, they just write “anybody” or “neutral. That’s helpful when you choose a gift, because that way a girl won’t end up with a tool set and a man won’t end up with a scented candle.

After all the gifts are laid out –under a tree or on a table, depending on the party – everyone draws a number and they either go lowest to highest, or in any order they want. When your number is called, you choose a gift and open it in front of everyone. That right there is my least favorite part. Sometimes, as is most often the case with standard White Elephant exchanges, the gift is a joke or embarrassing in some way. That isn’t always the case, but I always dread getting something that makes everyone stop and stare. The reason for opening the gift in front of everyone else, apart from the hilarity that sometimes ensues, is so the next person in line can see what you got. Then, when their turn comes around, they can steal any already opened present, instead of opening one themselves. When you are stolen from, you only have one option; open another present. This can go on until all the presents are opened.

At the Bluffton party, I remembered that there tended to be more “funny” gifts. I always get a little nervous when it comes to my turn. But this year, I tried something different. I brought a gift to add to the exchange, and then I picked the same one when it was my turn. That way, I was getting something I knew I wanted, and there was zero risk whatsoever!  I knew there was no danger of being stolen from either; I was the only Glee fan at the party.

At the Cleveland party, there was no specification as to whether the gift was better suited for a man or woman, but there was a theme as to which gifts you should buy for the exchange. The theme this year was “warm” and I brought a pair of gloves to add. I didn’t open any presents at that exchange, I stole from my cousin. He had opened a zebra-patterned coffee cup with a mini ceramic zebra stuck to the bottom of it. I knew he wasn’t about to get attached to it any time soon, but I would’ve stolen it regardless. I guess I’m just nice like that.

I love White Elephants, despite the looming fear of being embarrassed in front of my family. You always end up with something you like, even if you’d never get it for yourself…well, with the exception of me and my Glee CD. They’re my favorite parts of Christmas parties, and even though there’s the threat of ending up with frying pan,  creepy Santa doll, or embarrassing T-shirt, what’s life without a little risk?


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Quote of the Day:
"Flowers are weeds too, once you get to know them."
 -A.A. Milne